211: Chapter 211 Threat

"It's just a small matter," Lin Tian said, his tone as casual as if he were discussing what to have for dinner tonight.

Liu Yunfeng was utterly stunned, the ledger in his hand nearly slipping to the floor.

That was the Mu Family—the local tyrants of Qingshan City, whom even the City Patrol Camp didn't dare to cross.

He opened his mouth to persuade him further, but Lin Tian had already stood up and straightened his robes. "This matter is best handled sooner rather than later. Call that person over right now."

Liu Yunfeng gritted his teeth and, half-believing, sent an assistant to fetch the man. Before long, a broad-shouldered, thick-waisted burly man swaggered into the shop.

He wore a semi-worn brocade short jacket, with an iron plaque engraved with the Mu Family emblem hanging from his waist. His face was covered in fierce, fleshy folds, and as he stood before the counter, the light in the entire shop seemed to dim a bit.

He glanced at Liu Yunfeng behind the counter and then at Lin Tian sitting nearby. He didn't spare a second glance for this young man in gray robes, assuming him to be some helper Liu Yunfeng had called. He sneered, "Well, Shopkeeper Liu, have you thought it through? When are you clearing out the shop?"

Liu Yunfeng's lips parted, but before he could speak, Lin Tian set down his teacup and stood up. He walked over to the burly man, his calm gaze meeting the man's muddy, triangular eyes. "You're a Disciple of the Mu Family, right?

Listen up. The shopkeeper of this shop is my friend. From today onward, you are not allowed to disturb him again."

The burly man froze for a moment, as if he had heard an incredibly hilarious joke. Then, he threw his head back and laughed uproariously, his laughter shaking the dust off the rafters in a steady stream. Once he finished laughing, he glared down at Lin Tian, the flesh on his face twisting into a scowl. "Kid, who do you think you are?

You dare threaten me? I am from the Mu Family!" He spat out the words "Mu Family" with heavy emphasis. In Qingshan City, these two words were an ironclad brand that worked every single time.

Lin Tian's expression remained unchanged, and his voice was not loud. "I am a Personal Disciple of the Peak Master of the Qixia Sect's Zixia Peak, and an Elder of the Yunhai Fishery. I came to Qingshan City by order of my Sect to deliver a congratulatory gift to Old Master Mu. I just personally handed the gift to your Mu Family Elder, making me an honored guest of the Mu Family.

If you don't believe me, you can go ask around yourself."

The smile on the burly man's face froze for an instant. His eyes swept suspiciously up and down Lin Tian's body several times. Qixia Sect Personal Disciple, Fishery Elder, and honored guest of the Mu Family—any single one of these three titles was enough to give him a serious headache.

His heart began to beat like a drum, but he kept up a tough front. Just as he was about to say something, a flurry of light footsteps suddenly echoed from outside the shop.

Su Xiaoyue and the male Mu Family Disciple who had guided them this morning were walking past the alleyway side by side.

Su Xiaoyue had changed into a goose-yellow dress with a cinched waist. Her Silver Thread Soft Whip was wrapped around her waist as usual, and she carried several bags of freshly bought candied fruit in her hands, her face still carrying the residual smile of her shopping trip.

The male Mu Family Disciple beside her was eagerly carrying her things, leaning in to whisper something to her along the way.

Lin Tian walked to the shop entrance and waved at her. "Junior Sister Su, come over here for a moment and help verify my identity."

Su Xiaoyue stopped in her tracks and turned to glare at him. The frustration she had accumulated over those dozen or so days on the road hadn't faded yet. This blockhead of a guy had ignored her, and now he suddenly remembered to ask her for help?

She raised her chin slightly and spat out three crisp words, "I don't know him."

"You don't know him either, right?" Looking into her bright, almond-shaped eyes, the Mu Family Disciple felt completely lightheaded. How could he care about discerning right from wrong? He nodded repeatedly, "I don't know him, I don't know him."

Su Xiaoyue hummed in satisfaction and walked away with her candied fruit without looking back.

Hearing this conversation, the drumming in the burly man's heart instantly stopped. So he was a fraud! To think he dared to masquerade as an honored guest of the Mu Family and put on airs in front of him!

A sinister grin returned to his face, and his two cattail-leaf-fan-like hands cracked loudly as he clenched them. "So you're a fraud! Daring to impersonate an honored guest of my Mu Family is a capital offense! Today, I will teach you an eye-opening lesson on behalf of the Mu Family!"

He took a step forward, his right palm wrapped in a layer of pale yellow Internal Energy, and struck down fiercely toward Lin Tian's head.

A fourth-grade Dark Realm cultivator was already considered a top-tier expert on the streets of Qingshan City. The wind from his palm sent the pages of the ledger on the counter fluttering wildly. Standing behind the counter, Liu Yunfeng's legs couldn't stop shaking.

When he had last seen Lin Tian in Heishan City, the other party was merely a youth practicing martial arts with great difficulty at a martial arts hall, with a cultivation level of second-grade at most. Even if he had some miraculous encounters over the past few years, how strong could he have gotten? A strike from a fourth-grade Dark Realm cultivator was simply not something that youth from back then could withstand.

It was over; he had brought ruin upon Lin Tian. He closed his eyes in despair.

Lin Tian stood where he was, without even moving his feet, and merely waved his right sleeve forward casually.

There was no Move, no gathering of power—just a casual wave of his hand, as if shooing away a buzzing fly. The Major Achievement Realm of his Dragon Roar Iron Shirt operated on its own, wrapping neutralizing force around his sleeve as it effortlessly clashed with the burly man's palm strike.

With a muffled bang, the burly man's palm strike was shattered by this seemingly casual neutralizing force. The man felt as if he had been struck head-on by an invisible giant beast, and his two-hundred-pound body was sent flying, crashing onto the bluestone ground and sliding over ten feet away.

Clutching his chest, he spat out a mouthful of congested blood, and a pig-slaughtering shriek echoed through the alley.

Hearing the shriek, Liu Yunfeng snapped his eyes open, and then he witnessed the most unbelievable scene of his life. Lin Tian stood in his original spot, with not even a single strand of hair out of place.

Meanwhile, Mu Yuanqing, who possessed a fourth-grade cultivation, was rolling on the ground over ten feet away, coughing up blood.

One Move? No, it couldn't even be considered a single Move—it was just a wave of his sleeve. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, but when he opened them again, the scene remained unchanged. His mind buzzed, with only a single thought echoing repeatedly: Just what is Lin Tian's strength now?

The burly man struggled to scramble up from the ground. Clutching his chest where his blood and Qi were still churning, his gaze toward Lin Tian was filled with venomous malice and disbelief. He didn't dare to make another Move,

but he still spat out harsh words. "You dare injure me! You're dead! If you have the guts, wait right here!" With that, he turned and stumbled toward the alley entrance, clearly running back to the Mu Family to fetch reinforcements.

"What should we do?" Liu Yunfeng watched the burly man's receding back, his voice trembling. "If the Mu Family's people really come—"

Lin Tian sat back down in his chair, fished out two unused, clean teacups from the tea tray, and poured one for Liu Yunfeng as well. His tone was as calm as if they were discussing whether it would rain tomorrow. "Don't worry, the Mu Family won't dare to lay a hand on me.

Just wait." He pushed the teacup in front of Liu Yunfeng, picked up his own, and took a slow sip. His gaze fell toward the alley entrance, his expression resolute and composed.